1798 places it in the John Adams administration. He also had the Alien and Seditions Act under his pin. That one, even today, still is contraversial. In 2002 I heard the Patriot Act mentioned with it in the same breath more than once.

Cato, an excellent find...truly intriguing! I interested to learn more about this. The PDF seems to indicate that the last related legislation was an act in 1803. I'm interested to know if/when this was repealed or if it was "overhauled" into the system that went into effect following the civil war, or what happened to it?